Winter of the garage.

[sa226]

As it turns out I have the makings of a pretty awesome garage.

It is detached, but its 26 x 30. I wish I had water access and a drain but unfortunately the previous owners didn't see fit to include those awesome features. We completely reno'd our kitchen last year and I basically just re-located the cabinets to the garage so I have a nice little setup in there. I'm going to set up an RV sink pump system, just so I have some semblance of water in there.

Its all plywood walls for unlimited hanging/modular opportunities.

It only has two 15amp circuits, one for lights, the other for receptacles. I would like to get some 220 in there for additional options, and I might like to get a 20amp circuit in there as well.

The one thing it doesn't have is heat. It doesn't have open rafters, it has an 8ft drywall ceiling with a vapour barrier and thats it. So I would like to do some blow in insulation for the ceiling. I don't know what the trusses are called but they are the type that have a big triangle shape in the middle so I have additional storage space via some pull down stairs if I want.

My questions revolve around heat and insulation.

First, insulation:
Can I just blow a bunch of cellulose crap up there and call it a day? The roof is vented, but if I'm doing ceiling insulation without insulating the roof, do I need soffit vents and all that stuff? The trusses are only 2x4 so that doesn't allow for much of an r-rating if I want to do a storage area. I have thought of securing additional 2x4's the the trusses to essenstially make then 2x8s then I can have additional insulation under the storage floor in the middle, then just have the loose insulation on either side of the storage floor, if that makes any sense.

Second, heat. I do have gas running to the garage. We're not super high maintenance that I want to keep the thing heated 24/7 all winter long. I just want to be able to turn on the heat so that I can go out there and work comfortably. Is a Mr Heater maxx or Reznor furnace worth it in the long run after the upfront costs? Or is it just as good to put a 7500w construction heater in there for my needs?

Thanks. I'm pretty excited about getting this thing to where I want it to be, I just need some advice!

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by sa226

As it turns out I have the makings of a pretty awesome garage.

It is detached, but its 26 x 30. I wish I had water access and a drain but unfortunately the previous owners didn't see fit to include those awesome features. We completely reno'd our kitchen last year and I basically just re-located the cabinets to the garage so I have a nice little setup in there. I'm going to set up an RV sink pump system, just so I have some semblance of water in there.

Its all plywood walls for unlimited hanging/modular opportunities.

It only has two 15amp circuits, one for lights, the other for receptacles. I would like to get some 220 in there for additional options, and I might like to get a 20amp circuit in there as well.

The one thing it doesn't have is heat. It doesn't have open rafters, it has an 8ft drywall ceiling with a vapour barrier and thats it. So I would like to do some blow in insulation for the ceiling. I don't know what the trusses are called but they are the type that have a big triangle shape in the middle so I have additional storage space via some pull down stairs if I want.

My questions revolve around heat and insulation.

First, insulation:
Can I just blow a bunch of cellulose crap up there and call it a day? The roof is vented, but if I'm doing ceiling insulation without insulating the roof, do I need soffit vents and all that stuff? The trusses are only 2x4 so that doesn't allow for much of an r-rating if I want to do a storage area. I have thought of securing additional 2x4's the the trusses to essenstially make then 2x8s then I can have additional insulation under the storage floor in the middle, then just have the loose insulation on either side of the storage floor, if that makes any sense.

Second, heat. I do have gas running to the garage. We're not super high maintenance that I want to keep the thing heated 24/7 all winter long. I just want to be able to turn on the heat so that I can go out there and work comfortably. Is a Mr Heater maxx or Reznor furnace worth it in the long run after the upfront costs? Or is it just as good to put a 7500w construction heater in there for my needs?

Thanks. I'm pretty excited about getting this thing to where I want it to be, I just need some advice!

My garage sounds pretty similar to yours except that it is only 24x24. Mine is fully insulated and if you already have a gas line running out there I would highly recommend gas heater. Aside from the higher upfront cost you could easily keep it consistently heated to 5 or 10 degrees for a low cost. I have electric baseboard heat in my garage and it is expensive as I keep mine at around 7 degrees. One time I left my heat turned up to around 20 degrees when I was working in there and forgot to turn down the heat. It was on for a couple weeks and I ended up with a $1000 electricity bill that month.

[worth]

[JFK]

Winter of the Garage is my favorite Metallica album

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by sa226

The trusses are only 2x4 so that doesn't allow for much of an r-rating if I want to do a storage area. I have thought of securing additional 2x4's the the trusses to essenstially make then 2x8s then I can have additional insulation under the storage floor in the middle, then just have the loose insulation on either side of the storage floor, if that makes any sense.

I nailed 2x2s to the bottom of my trusses to allow for R22 insulation. 2x4s might be better, just harder to nail. With 2x2s I just used the nail gun, and did the entire garage in a couple of hours.

I also had electric heat, which did end up being a little costly. If I was building a detached garage again I'd run gas for a gas heater.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by sa226

As it turns out I have the makings of a pretty awesome garage.

...

It only has two 15amp circuits, one for lights, the other for receptacles. I would like to get some 220 in there for additional options, and I might like to get a 20amp circuit in there as well.

Would you use a 220 for anything? I have a 220 in my garage and I was considering using it for brewing, but so far I haven't needed the extra power.

Originally Posted by sa226

...

My questions revolve around heat and insulation.

First, insulation:
Can I just blow a bunch of cellulose crap up there and call it a day?

I'm just a stupid lawyer so this might be terrible advice, but I insulated my garage this summer. I ended up putting batts in between the joists (mine were mostly 16" OC, with some 24" OC - both standard insulation batt sizes). This way I was able to wedge the batts in without them falling down. Then I vapour barrier'd it all and drywalled over that. My alternative would have been to vapour barrier and drywall first, then try to lay batts or blow insulation in through the incredibly tiny access point that I would have been left with. I'm 6'4" so that wouldn't have been very fun.

Originally Posted by sa226

The roof is vented, but if I'm doing ceiling insulation without insulating the roof, do I need soffit vents and all that stuff? The trusses are only 2x4 so that doesn't allow for much of an r-rating if I want to do a storage area. I have thought of securing additional 2x4's the the trusses to essenstially make then 2x8s then I can have additional insulation under the storage floor in the middle, then just have the loose insulation on either side of the storage floor, if that makes any sense.

You absolutely need soffit vents (I assume you are talking about the polystyrene venting you staple to the underside of your roof). Otherwise your insulation will block the soffits and you have no air flow, meaning you will trap moisture up there and grow mold. They are ridiculously cheap. I bought a 10 pack for about $15 and cut them in half.

Originally Posted by sa226

Second, heat. I do have gas running to the garage. We're not super high maintenance that I want to keep the thing heated 24/7 all winter long. I just want to be able to turn on the heat so that I can go out there and work comfortably. Is a Mr Heater maxx or Reznor furnace worth it in the long run after the upfront costs? Or is it just as good to put a 7500w construction heater in there for my needs?

If you have gas piped to the garage already, buy a gas furnace. I'd recommend getting a properly sized one, so that you can turn it on, wait 10 minutes and go out into a reasonably warm garage.

An electric heater will cost a lot more per BTU. I'd guess you'll break even in a couple of years at most (less so if you forget to turn the electric one off :P)

[sa226]

Thanks everybody. This helps.

I mainly wanted to do the blown in for ease, but maybe its better to do the batts so I can get r22 in the storage area. Can I do r22 batts in the middle sections for where I want my storage floor, and then just blow in some loose fill on either side? I don't want to do floor in the whole attic as that would be overkill. The drywall ceiling is already up with vapor barrier.

I think doing the furnace thing is probably wisest now that I consider it. I know they're not high end but Princess Auto has some okay ones on sale for a decent price. I have read that Its actually not the greatest idea to have a massive furnace, as it would be less efficient. As in, to keep it at a certain temperature a 80000btu furnace would likely kick in and out a lot, likely shortening its life span.

As for the 220. Its definitely not essential, but I think it would be nice to have. Maybe a welder. I like my woodworking, so maybe a bigass table saw. I'm pretty good with electrical and I have some electrician friends, so its not as big of a deal as if I were to hire it out.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I nailed 2x2s to the bottom of my trusses to allow for R22 insulation. 2x4s might be better, just harder to nail. With 2x2s I just used the nail gun, and did the entire garage in a couple of hours.

I also had electric heat, which did end up being a little costly. If I was building a detached garage again I'd run gas for a gas heater.

Oh man, I totally should have done that. Great idea.

[sa226]

Anybody hung a furnace in their garage?

I ask because Ive come across this thing where you're supposed to have 8ft minimum from the floor to the bottom of the furnace. My ceilings are about 8ft so I would not meet that 8ft minimum. I don't have access to Plumbing and Gas code and my inquiry to the City was useless. I have heard this 8ft thing elsewhere, but its also in the installation instructions for the furnace.

I'm wondering if its part of code because of chemical settling or something or maybe vehicle height. But then those seem more related to commercial parking garages and mechanic shops rather than a run of the mill residential garage.

Thanks.

[Fuzz]

Let me know how that goes, I was thinking of doing the same thing.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Wow, just heard about this - PlanIt builders has gone into restructuring, turning a lot of customers and trades into creditors...

https://relieffromdebt.ca/planit-builders-inc/

https://globalnews.ca/video/3847194/...s-to-creditors


Crazy - I know a few people that were contemplating using them....

[ken0042]

Maybe they could have saved some money by not dropping a glossary colour booklet at my door every week for the last 2 years.